Richard Morrison throws in with Jeremy Lott and William Yeatman to bring you Episode 69 of the LibertyWeek podcast. We start by pigging out on swine flu statistics, putting off action on global warming and wagging our finger at a corrupt judge. We proceed with the fight between Intel and AMD and wrap up with an interview with CEI Senior Fellow Gregory Conko on how to end world hunger.

Read the full story

Amid all the endless media psychobabble about “national conversations” and “teachable moments” - and we will no doubt here more of this in the reporting of the “beer summit” at the White House today — I have been trying to weigh the established facts surrounding Henry Louis Gates’ arrest from a libertarian, constitutional liberties perspective.

I have come to a conclusion siding with Gates against the officers – but only in a limited sense. Although I disagree that this was a case of racial profiling,…

Read the full story

In Springfield, Missouri, the city-owned utility provider–City Utilities–recently attempted to seize a parcel of downtown property in order to build a bus terminal. The owner, Becky Spence, planned to build a luxury hotel that would have been the tallest building in Springfield if completed. KOLR/KSFX reports:

Spence says when CU made it known it wanted to take her land, she tried to compromise.  She says she met with CU managers, offering a portion of the land for the bus terminal.  The…

Read the full story

UPDATE 1:15pm ET: Myron reports - “House narrowly defeats omnibus land grab bill under suspension. 282 yes to 144 no. Two thirds needed under suspension. Two votes short.” Huzzah!

The Republican Study Committee sent out this alert about the what I’m call the Federal Land Grab Act of 2009:

This legislation is more than 1,000 pages and would generally designate new wilderness areas, wild and scenic rivers, codify a National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS), and expand the National Park system. Conservatives may…

Read the full story

I have heard several Republican congressional leaders say that the party has learned its lesson from their disastrous losses in the past two elections. From now on, it’s back to being the party of limited government, fiscal discipline, lower taxes, and against pork barrel spending.

Sounds good, but Senate Republicans have blown their first opportunity to demonstrate that they mean what they say. The first bill that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) brought to a vote in the 111th Congress…

Read the full story

In the 80s and 90s, Zimbabwean elephant management was a magnificent illustration of how property rights and markets combine to protect and even rescue endangered species.

Since Robert Mugabe’s government turned to racist demagoguery and violence to keep in power, the elephant has suffered tremendously as property rights and markets have been shattered. Today, it is reported that
elephants are being slaughtered for food by Mugabe’s army.

The elephant is probably one of the lesser reasons to work for the downfall of this vicious dictator,…

Read the full story

I wrote recently of California’s declaration to allow tropical forestry carbon offsets so that California businesses wouldn’t have to actually reduce their emissions, but I suggested that guilt-laden Californians could be doing more harm than good. The countries where they will supposedly be investing in forests have proven records for corruption.

I now feel vindicated. Reuters Africa reports that yesterday at the EU climate talks:

Brazil ruled out on Thursday letting rich countries offset their greenhouse gas emissions by helping to save the Amazon rain…

Read the full story

Today, in addition to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s expected announcement of a major mortgage modification plan through the $700 billion TARP, Barney Frank’s House Financial Services Committee is holding a hearing entitled “Private Sector Cooperation with Mortgage Modification.” However, despite the word “cooperation” in its title, it’s clear from letters Frank and others sent out that the hearing will be confrontational rather than cooperative. Specifically, Frank and some fellow committee members seek to villify investors in mortgage-backed secuties who assert…

Read the full story